This week, we wanted to give a shout-out to a crucial film. Amidst our burgeoning suburban development, our night skies are slowly disappearing. We’ve written about this many times before, and perhaps many people see this as a singular niche interest. The recent independent film The City Dark by Ian Cheney takes issue with that, exploring the reality and consequences of the loss of our night sky. Like me, the director grew up in Maine, and had the now almost-unheard-of luxury of having pristine dark skies right on his door step. Now, may backyard observers must drive ever increasing distances to simply have the Milky Way visible overhead. Few people have ever witnessed a true dark sky site, where clouds look like shadows and you can’t see your hand in front of you.

We managed to catch the film in its abbreviated 60 minute form on its recent run on the PBS series POV. (Only a month, guys?) The film has been making the indie rounds in the US, and we’re patiently awaiting its online/Netflix release on an as-yet-to-be determined date.

The director of The City Dark crisscrosses the county and documents the vanishing night skies. Does brighter = safer? What is the true cost of illuminating the underbellies of night time clouds and aircraft? What is the cost to nature and us? Far from just pure aesthetics, it’s noted in the film (& recently on this site) that the American Medical Association has stated that light pollution is a major health concern.

We’ve documented light pollution in our own neighborhood and urge others to do the same. We’ve even made limiting magnitude estimations from the most light polluted site in the world, the Strip in Las Vegas. We could just make out the belt of Orion at +2 magnitude, though we were the only glazed-eyed tourist looking skyward to even notice.

Perhaps many non-astros roll their eyes when they hear of light pollution; here, they think, is yet one more thing to worry about in the modern world, along with global warming, terrorism, and “how big is too big” for the latest flat screen TV. I always find that folks do pay attention, however, when it hits their wallet. In fact, with the recent economic downturn, many municipalities are “turning off” to excessive nighttime lighting.

I see the loss as something insidious to the poetic nature of our culture; perhaps the biggest crime is that few actually miss the beauty of the night sky. We’ve become less familiar with nature than ever before, with sightings of such pedestrian objects as Venus or Jupiter being mistaken for UFO’s. (Search YouTube; playing “debunk the homemade UFO vid” can be a fun game!)

Do make an effort to check out A City Dark, and get involved with Dark Sky activism starting viewing the film and a visit to the International Dark Sky Association. This is one you definitely shouldn’t miss, but like many indie gems, you have to seek it out. We’ll let you know when/if it comes back up for watching via PBS/YouTube/Netflix etc in the coming weeks, just follow us on (shameless plug for) @Astroguyz on Twitter!

Astro Documentaries

Pictured is a Delta IV rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on November 21st, 2010. The image is a 20 second exposure taken at dusk, shot from about 100 miles west of the launch site. The launch placed a classified payload in orbit for the United States Air Force.

DIY Astronomy

Difficult but not impossible to catch against the dawn or dusk sky, spotting an extreme crescent moon can be a challenge. The slender crescent pictured was shot 30 minutes before sunrise when the Moon was less than 20 hours away from New. A true feat of visual athletics to catch, a good pair of binoculars or a well aimed wide field telescopic view can help with the hunt.

The Sun is our nearest star, and goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. This image was taken via a properly filtered telescope, and shows the Sun as it appeared during its last maximum peak in 2003. This was during solar cycle #23, a period during which the Sun hurled several large flares Earthward. The next solar cycle is due to peak around 2013-14.

Astronomy Gear Reviews

Located in the belt of the constellation Orion, Messier 42, also known as the Orion Nebula is one of the finest deep sky objects in the northern hemisphere sky. Just visible as a faint smudge to the naked eye on a clear dark night, the Orion Nebula is a sure star party favorite, as it shows tendrils of gas contrasted with bright stars. M42 is a large stellar nursery, a star forming region about 1,000 light years distant.

Astronomical Observing Targets

Orbiting the planet in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) every 90 minutes, many people fail to realize that you can see the International Space Station (ISS) from most of the planet on a near-weekly basis. In fact, the ISS has been known to make up to four visible passes over the same location in one night. The image pictured is from the Fourth of July, 2011 and is a 20 second exposure of a bright ISS pass.

Next to the Sun, the two brightest objects in the sky are the Moon and the planet Venus. In fact, when Venus is favorably placed next to the Moon, it might just be possible to spot the two in the daytime. Another intriguing effect known as earthshine or ashen light is also seen in the image on the night side of the Moon; this is caused by sunlight reflected back off of the Earth towards our only satellite.

A mosaic of three images taken during the total lunar eclipse of December 21st, 2010. The eclipse occurred the same day as the winter solstice. The curve and size of the Earth’s shadow is apparent in the image.